Last.Fm Top Artists Ouch. We’ve had some pretty good results from singers before when new albums were released, but no one has had as good a showing as Miranda Lambert did this week. Not only is her 36 listeners one of the highest totals we’ve ever had on these charts, but there’s never been a […]

Tracy Lawrence was hospitalized on Tuesday for a respiratory infection. He was diagnosed with early signs of pneumonia. The Star-Telegram‘s Preston Jones is not fond of the latest from George Strait: Whatever the case, too much of Twang feels like Strait, who produced the record with longtime collaborator Tony Brown, capitalizing on his present, increased […]

Ken Tucker says George Strait‘s true precursors are gentleman crooners Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold, but he goes on to note that even those comparisons don’t quite fit: “Strait is his own man, ornery and independent in a quiet but firm way. Neither Reeves nor Arnold, for example, ever recorded a song about killing a […]

Listen to Sara Evans‘ new single “Feels Just Like a Love Song.” ( MySpace | iLike ) Saguaro Road Records is giving away a free download of Tanya Tucker‘s “Love’s Gonna Live Here” on Amazon. The track is from her upcoming album My Turn, which can be streamed in its entirety on CMT before its […]

We’re creeping up toward 100 members at The 9513 group, and George Strait is getting closer and closer to breaking that 30-listener mark. His 28 count for this week was the largest showing we’ve had for any artist, making him the #1 artist of the week by a large margin. The next-closest singers, with 24 […]

Watch the new video from Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, “Johnny Cash Is Dead And His House Burned Down.” New releases for the week of June 23, 2009 include: Charlie Rich – Once a Drifter (Reissue) Amazon Charlie Robison – Beautiful Day Amazon | Lone Star Music David Frizzell & Shelly West – The […]

How ’bout those CMT Awards? Calvin Gilbert has a straightforward recap of the evening. Brad Paisley won three awards, Taylor Swift rapped with T-Pain (are they releasing a crunktry album together?) and won two of her own awards. During an acceptance speech she thanked CMT for allowing her to sing with her heroes, Def Leppard. […]

Ah, there’s the George Strait push that I was expecting last week. Twenty-six people in The 9513 group decided to give King George a listen, making him the top artist of the week by a pretty large margin. Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam were the closest, with 21 listeners apiece. Kenny Chesney, who’d been largely […]

The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for its 8th Honors and Awards ceremony yesterday. The ceremony will be held September 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN during the Americana Festival and Conference and will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale, featuring a band led by Buddy Miller and additional, yet-to-be-named performers. The AMA […]

Dierks Bentley and Darius Rucker opened for Brad Paisley when he rolled through Austin last Thursday, but it was Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson that joined Paisley for a duet on “Miles And Miles of Texas” and Austin guitar legend Redd Volkaert who dueled with him during the encore performance of “Let The Good […]